British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on October 19 that the British government was "closely monitoring" the AY.4.2 variant, but there is no evidence that this variant is infectious. easier.
"We are still watching closely and will not hesitate to act if necessary," a spokesman for the British Prime Minister told reporters.
Professor Francois Balloux at University College London said that AY.4.2 contains two mutations in the spike protein, called A222V and Y145H. He said the new mutation appeared "rare" outside the UK and there are now three cases detected in the US.
"As AY.4.2 is still quite infectious. With a 10% higher infectivity, it only causes a small number of additional infections. So this mutation is not what is driving the increase. recent increase in cases in the UK," said Professor Balloux.
Ravi Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, told the Guardian that these mutations are not of concern yet.
"A222V has been seen in other strains of the Delta variant. It doesn’t have a really big impact on the virus," Gupta said.
Mr. Gupta said mutations similar to Y145H were detected in the Alpha and other strains. Although these mutations appear to affect the association between antibodies and the virus, Gupta thinks the effect is negligible.
"I don’t think these are really significant mutations," Gupta said.
According to the Financial Times , Dr Jeffrey Barrett, Director of the Covid-19 Genome Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, and Professor Francois Balloux, Director of the University of London Genetics Institute, think that AY.4.2 is infectious. 10-15% higher than the original Delta variant . Experts recommend to be careful with this new development.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the UK remains high, despite the country also having a high vaccination rate. On October 18, nearly 50,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UK.
Some scientists have suggested that measures should be taken to reduce transmission through close contact, such as wearing a mask indoors, to prevent further infections.
Restrictive measures to control the Covid-19 epidemic have been lifted across the UK since July after 3 times of nationwide blockade.
The recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the UK has been attributed to an increased number of infections among schoolchildren. The UK government has called for a booster vaccination program to deal with weakened immunity in the community.
Israel detected a case of AY.4.2
The Israeli Ministry of Health said on October 19 that the country had recorded the first case of AY.4.2 strain, after this strain appeared in a number of European countries.
This variant was diagnosed in an 11-year-old boy who was tested at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, after returning from Moldova.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said that an epidemiological investigation is underway and that all strains and their development are being continuously monitored.
